How to Sell Your Car

First written by Molta and 1 others, on Fri, 2009/05/22 - 1:44pm, and has been viewed by 2634 unique users

This article offers some practical tips into making your car more sellable if you ever decided time is up for a new one. It's sort of a brief essay that advices you, in organized steps, how to decide on selling your car; starting with pricing, fixing it if needed, putting it out for sale, negotiating the price, and last finalizing needed legal documents. You will find those tips usable for whichever place you’re in. As for registry details and procedures mentioned here, they are more oriented towards those who happen to live in Egypt.


- If you're having increasing troubles with your car, going to maintenance stations and the mechanics more regularly than you meet your friends, then it’s time to get rid of it. Also you may revisit your lifestyle needs and see if your car meets them, if not, then you need to get one that does so, of course if you have the finance and are ready for such step. 



- First of all assess the market and ask your acquaintances who happen to have dealings with car sellers and dealers.

- Get to know when is the best time to offer your car for sale, for example used 4x4s are more on demand during the summer season when young people go for trips that require tough cars …

- Check online and offline classified ads and compare prices of cars of the same condition, year of manufacturing, and model of your car.

- You may as well seek a mechanic consultation, a trusted one.


Mechanical fine-tuning

- Make sure that there’s no clear malfunctioning in the car that the buyer may not recognise yet can harm him or annoy him. If there’s any; either fix it, or make sure you communicate it to the buyer, which will of course, reduce its price and its selling chances …

-  Ensure that the car doesn’t produce any unexplained sound that may turn the buyer skeptic about the over all condition of the car-- it might be a very small thing that needs repair.

- Check periodical maintenance of the car, such as engine oil, power steering and breaks oil, water…

- Pay a visit to the mechanic and get to know the real condition of the car…


Making the car look more appealing

1.    Thoroughly clean car and you may wax any scratches that can be recovered.
2.    Wax the tires and make them look fresh and cared for.
3.    Fix any brokens in the car as much as you can with the least cost possible. For example if any of the side mirrors is broken, go get another one, even if second hand, to make the car look neat.
4.    Also wax all Fiber parts in the car… It definitely gives the car a pleasant and orderly look that will help you win the buyer’s trust.
5.    Eliminate any personalized elements in the car, such as stickers and any sort of accessories that offer no extra functionalities to the car…
6.    Pay special attention to the interiors’ cleanness, it tells the buyer how you’ve been treating your car.
7.    Air the car engine, and get rid of all dried leaves that heap at the corners…
8.    Ensure that car boot is empty and clean, for this is where the junk accumulates.
9.    Attach a note carrying the car maintenance record, such as last time your washed the radiator, the type of the coolant you use, the type of engine oil you use and its category, such as Mobil One…



1) Prepare a detailed and a good teaser ad that covers all specs of the car to be used in online classified sites or to stick at bulletin boards at your community club, supermarkets, your building, or at your work…

- Such ad would include:
1.    Model
2.    Mileage
3.    Engine info: Cylinders, and CCs
4.    Transmission: manual or automatic gear
5.    Whether the car is power steering or not
6.    Color: Interior and exterior
7.    Any extra accessories that happen to be there, such as MP3 player,
8.    Price
9.    Location of the car

2) You need another somewhat shorter ad that highlights main facts, such as price and overall condition of the car so as it to use it in relevant newspapers.

Some people prefer not to mention the price of the car in the ad, some sidestep it or tend to forget to add it, mistakenly thinking that it won’t add much to the ad. And some actually think it’s a good way to get the best price. All that is far from true. In fact mentioning the price of the car acts as a good filter to bidders who shall call you to bargain the price of the car, sending over only potential buyers who’re interested, AND are ready to pay such amount of money.

You can add the price but still communicate your readiness to negotiate it, if you really are. But in this case you will have to mention a slightly bigger figure than that you intend, but don’t exaggerate it.

If you don’t plan to sell it for a lesser price, then just mention the price and stick to it when negotiating.

Where to place your car ad

1.    At local newspapers
2.    Classified papers
3.    Stick it at the bulletin board of supermarkets, your community club, office building…
4.    Stick a “For Sale” note at the windows of the car you intend to sell along with your mobile number. 5.    At online classified sites, and particularly those specialized in cars, check local sites…
6.    Post your ad at relevant online forums, this will ensure exposure to relatively wider audience…
7. Word of mouth: Communicate your intention to sell the car to your friends, peers, and your mechanic, they may help you reach a potential buyer..


Negotiating tells a lot about you and your ethics, so don’t let any urgency to sell the car for whichever reason or circumstances that crept into your life change your values or how much you want to buy a new one convince you that you can play it the “smart way” and actually get away with whatever lie you manage to sell to the buyer in order get rid of the car… Mistakes can always resurface and haunt you one day in your life.

Act friendly with buyers who show interest in your car, be open with them and encourage them to ask whatever questions they have. This will speed up the selling process, that if, they’re really interested in the car, for you will create the atmosphere to address all issues that may erupt on a later stage that might hamper the whole deal. The sooner you talk these issues over, the faster the selling process will go.

And if the buyer said he’d like to bring a mechanic to check the car, do not object. This is his right, plus, it shows you're confident of the car condition you claimed. You may as well suggest taking the car to a trusted petrol station to inspect it and they will issue a report explaining the engine efficiency and whatever malfunctioning if there’s any.

Also allow the buyer to test-drive the car, but be there with him while doing so and make sure he doesn't mess up with the car, watch the way he tests it, for he might damage the car if he's not a good driver or happen to have bad driving habbits.

Transferring ownership

- Bear in mind that even if the buyer of the car won’t get a chance to get back to you, to you one day, do not purposefully hide the real condition of the car. Remember that God is watching form above and he knows of whatever lies one may sell to the buyer of the car

Also remember that you speak your personality … even when you offer things for sale.

- Go to the nearest Real Estate Agency to get the ownership of the car transferred to its buyer and issue a bill of sale…


Bill of Sale

- The bill of sale comes in two forms (here I’m speaking of transfer of ownership law in Egypt):

1) A final Registration Form naming the buyer of the car as the current owner of it, clearing your responsibility over the car;

2) Or Procuration Document giving the buyer full authority to sell the car to himself or any other person, and to handle traffic procedures… This usually happens when the license of your car is valid for over five or six months, which encourages the buyer to transfer ownership of the car to himself after using the license till its expiry date and then register the car as his, to start traffic procedures and issue a new license of the car carrying his own name.

- As extra precautions I advice you photocopy this procuration document and get the buyer sign it with a short note saying he has received the car “with the above specifications".- This will clear your responsibility in case the buyer makes an accident with the car…



How to Sell Your Car